Lost in the Astral Plane
by PorcelainDeath
Summary: Kokoro can't remember much more than her own name & with waking in the strange psychic Genkai's home, questions begin to stir. Now with the help of an even stranger being known as Kurama & the humans he & Genkai are acquainted with, her true life of horror begins to surface. The biggest question being; will she survive? -Rated for Black Black Club extracurricular activities.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Thunder clapped in the sky as dark clouds swirled above, one of the worst storms of the year some would say, however the general populace had no idea of what was soon to come.

Nestled deep within the woods and valleys of towering mountains, below the current onslaught of wind and rain, a flash of lighting gave way to an otherwise normally hidden mansion long forgotten by the humans and their godly protector. Many years have passed since the land's owner came to a most gruesome yet deserving death, and with his passing the property's once consistent flow of the wealthy, the high paid servants, and caged otherworldly beings has slowed to a complete stop. According to all Spirit World files no being is reported to live on the grounds, leaving the many windows and towers black, the gardens dead and all belongings untouched, what once use to be a gorgeous yet menacing manor now stands as a decaying reminder of the horrors that were, supposedly, disassembled. However, with many years of inactivity and other troubles to worry over, the Spirit World's interest in the facility has faded to the farthest reaches of their minds and agendas, leaving the cause for a lantern's glow through the storm from a gardener's shed questionable, and yet undisturbed, much like the rest of the land.

What human or apparition would dare step foot in the home of the former president of the Black Black Club? Are their intentions honest, or similar to the previous resident's? And more importantly, will someone find them?


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Consistent beeping and the sounds of several fluids rushing through tubes fell into a synchronized rhythm with one another as they slowly ebbed from the forefront of a young woman's mind. Each time the darkness which, she could only claim to be rest, befell upon her she would wake to the sounds, along with a lightheadedness compared to no other, though seconds after they start her mind shuts the sounds out to be nothing more than a quiet echo, reminiscent to that of a far off alarm clock on a beach and the dizziness to a habitual knack of tripping and swaying. She had read somewhere over the years that most humans wake to the sound of alarms that were set the previous night to be awoken at a precise time to their own liking, yet the beeping in her head did not match the description and she most certainly has never owned an alarm, or anything for that matter. The starts of a headache began to form as thinking grew to be a challenge to the woman, _'Where am I this time?'_

Squinting her small eyes at the sudden onslaught of light upon her, she waited till her eyes adjusted to look around at her surroundings. A large oak finished floor spanned many yards to make a room the size of a small house, added with four exceptionally tall walls reaching up to meet more wood, arched into a triangle shaped roof and the furniture was limited to that of a few candle pillars sporadically placed around, the image of a Buddhist temple came to mind. _'Appears to be a temple…but I don't recall being a person of prayer.' _The pounding behind her temples began to grow once more as she struggled to remember if she prayed or was even part of a religion. She wished she could remember if this headache was normal as well, though the only thing that seemed to be within her memories was pages from books on subjects from children's stories to mythology and physics properties to medical practices, no recollections of prior moments before today's waking. Truly this was a very unconventional morning.

"Well, well, looks like I have myself a visitor."

Dropping her hands from her head, the girl turned to where her back had been facing to see an open doorway with the outline of a rather short human standing, surrounded by the light of the morning sunrise. Letting her eyes adjust once more the girl took in the figure's presence, it was an elderly woman possibly in her late nineties with long faded pink hair and adorning a Chinese martial artist's ensemble. With the new knowledge of not being alone with her thoughts the headache faded from the girl's mind as the prospect for speech grew to be the new problem. Tightening her throat muscles and attempting to form words but making nothing more than awkward sounds, the elderly woman regarded the girl with confusion.

The young woman was tall, well taller than herself which was not much of a task, her facial qualities made her out to be around her mid-twenties yet her body looked nothing more than a thin branch without the appearance of any muscles or feminine qualities and the short frizzed hair sticking up all over and being no longer than the back of her neck didn't help to not give off a childish appearance. Finally the girl seemed to figure out how to form words with the help of squeaks as they came out from her throat, "Erm, he-hello." The younger woman looked around at her surroundings once more and then turned back to the stranger. _'Though really I must be the stranger here…but this woman doesn't appear to be a monk or priest, at least not with those garments. Maybe this is actually a martial arts compound?' _Clearing her throat in order to speak clearer this time around, the girl opened her mouth once more, "I apologize for intruding, if I have done so. However, could you possibly tell me where we are currently located?"

The older woman stood still for a minute or two staring and taking in this newcomer. Something was wrong with this one, that the woman was sure of. The girl's aura seemed human yet her entire body screamed 'wrong', and when she had spoken she had done so in a manner that resembled that of the spirit fox, and her showing up without anyone's knowledge in the middle of the compound claiming to not know where she was, yes something is definitely wrong with this one. "Either you're an idiot or completely helpless."

Most would probably take the hoarse words as insults however, the girl, not knowing what she was, simply walked to stand next to the intriguing woman as they both turned to look at the scenery from outside the room. Pink and orange hues collided with one another as the bright yellow sun began its trek over the far off mountain tops to shine over the large tree tops covering all areas around the large feudal style compound, it really was quite a sight to behold. "I never knew a sunrise could be so tranquil."

"Tell me girl, what is your name?"

Without even a moment's thought and not breaking her gaze on the scene in front of her, the woman responded, "Kokoro. May I ask what yours is?"

"Genkai, and to answer your first question, we are located at my home." The woman, Genkai, answered with a strange emphasis on the last few words.

"You have a lovely home, Genkai." Realization to her own words began to break through Kokoro's captivated gaze on the land as she looked down upon her new acquaintance. She woke up in this old woman's home! This surely hasn't happened before, _'Or has it? Erg! If only I could remember something. Though I suppose remembering my name is something, isn't it? Though what person doesn't even know their own name?' _Throbbing began once more throughout her head as she began to bow to the woman and start her apology. "I am most sorry for entering your home without permission, Genkai. There is no excuse I could give that would forgive my lack of…"

Before she could even finish her sentence Genkai started to laugh, making Kokoro look up from the bow to come eye to eye with the strange woman. "Your formalities are not needed. Honestly, you are quite fine, it isn't often that I get an educated visitor around here. Most are complete dimwits." Genkai turned from the perturbed girl to look back at the sun as it made its way over the mountain tops. "This home of mine is for the lost, and considering your first words to me, and the headaches you appear to get each time your brain starts to work, you are very confused and lost."

Standing again while staring down at this woman Kokoro furrowed her brows at the concept of her being lost. "I suppose, I am what you say, though I have no recollection nor feelings of being lost, confused is quite accurate."

"Well you aren't were you are supposed to be now are you? That makes you lost in my book."

"Well…" rubbing her forefingers against her temple Kokoro sighed. "To be lost, one must first have a place to belong, correct?" Waiting for a few moments to see if she would get a response and upon getting none, she continued her musing. "I have no so called place to be or belong, at least not one that I can recall."

Silence befell the two as each stared out at the land, contemplating the other's statements while the birds began their song and the forest stirred with the start of a new day.

"You're a very unusual person aren't you?" Genkai's question sounded more like a statement as she began her descent from the doorway to the stairs and ground below. "You will stay here, till we can figure out what your story is."

Not knowing why, Kokoro found herself following Genkai's steps down the stairs and through a quaint garden, somehow the idea Genkai gave felt strange yet oddly comforting. After all if something was to happen she could just walk away right? But where could she go if she did? As the questions started, another wave of pulsing throbs began to knock through her head and she found herself muttering a response, "Alright."


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

After a short walk through the Zen garden near the temple where she had awoken moments before, Kokoro found herself sitting across from the odd elderly woman known as Genkai, watching her sip on a cup of tea, her own laying untouched in front of her. From what she had seen so far, the grounds that she had found herself taking refuge was rather large, consisting of many adjourning buildings all of which taking on the complex feudal era structuring. Had she awoken in another time? That would explain not knowing anything, yet the idea didn't seem real let alone proper. _'No, there is something else transpiring here. There has to be…but what?' _

"Rubbing your head like that won't help get rid of the headaches, you know."

Dropping her hands back down to her lap Kokoro sighed, "Yes, I suppose you are right." Moving her gaze from Genkai to over her shoulder at the open doorway looking out at the garden, she began to try and quell the questions she kept forming in her head, making the once strong throbbing turn to a dull yet persistent annoyance.

Genkai seemed to be a friendly enough woman, wisdom appeared to flow throughout her and even her mannerisms spoke a language all their own; telling of the battles she has had to face and all of the knowledge she held of the world. Just sitting in silence with this woman gave Kokoro a sense of ease, add in the beauty of her current surroundings; had she arrived here in another time, without so many unanswered questions she would probably find herself feeling at home, but the pulsing in her head wasn't going to allow that to happen any time soon. Maybe one day this shelter would become her home? But what if she had her own home somewhere? "Tell me Genkai, is it normal for you to find unknown persons on your property?"

Hearing her set the cup down on the table she turned to find the woman's eyes closed and arms crossed in a thoughtful pose. "Honestly, no. It is seldom that anyone new comes here, and when they do the others and myself, are always able to sense their presence coming up the walkway."

"Sense?"

Genkai's eyes opened at the question and stared hard back at Kokoro for a few seconds, as if contemplating how to word her answer. "Yes, you see all beings give off an aura of sorts. Humans that are gifted, you could say, can sense the auras and tell things such as; whereabouts, nature-good or evil to dumb it down, and what kind of being they are. Animals for instance, give off a kind of aura that simply says that they are there, no more and no less, and from being simple their auras project the same. Humans are a bit more complex, depending on their own state of being and awareness to the spirit realm they can project a sporadic and low level aura or a strong vibrant one that can be felt miles away." She paused for a moment, as if to take in Kokoro's response to her words, which was oddly stoic as if nothing was surprising yet not familiar as well. "Then there are the demons and apparitions, they are more complex and stand out a good deal more than all others."

Furrowing her brows together Kokoro simply continued to hold Genkai's gaze. _'Demons and apparitions…thought they were of myth? However, she speaks of auras and sensing other beings as if she is a psychic, which she might very well be, it would explain our surroundings and her personality…Maybe to her and others like her, demons are real? Hrm…seems logical. One more aware could very well possibly know of things long forgotten and otherwise shunned as fantasy by the general populace. After all it is said that each fable is based on truth and also that humans as a group are ignorant, and seeing as there are no large groups present in this secluded land of hers, she could very well be speaking true.' _

"So you are saying I gave off no aura, as you put it, which otherwise would have told you of my presence in your home?"

"Correct." Picking up her glass for another sip of her drink the woman took in the calmness Kokoro was giving off in hearing this information. Normal humans would laugh or faint at the notion, yet here she was taking it in like a sponge and then processing it like a computer.

"You mentioned something about 'the others', so it is safe to assume you do not live alone then?"

A hoarse chuckle escaped through Genkai's lips as she answered, "Didn't use to, had this entire place to myself until a few years ago when I had to go and open my trap about my age. Now at least one of those youngsters are always here. Their way of making sure I don't croak alone I suppose."

Blankly looking at the woman, Kokoro looked her over once more, wondering if she had missed any signs of illness. "You appear to be in good health to me."

Chuckling again Genkai met Kokoro's gaze, "Yeah well, when you mention kicking the bucket just once at my age, everyone wants to crawl up your ass and coddle you like a child." With a wink she added, "Some days I like to go along with it just to keep them on their toes."

Kokoro found the corner of her mouth turning up ever so slightly in a small grin. When was the last time she had smiled? The throbbing began again.

"Tell me something, Kokoro." All signs of humor left the room and a serious tone took its place. "Do you want to figure out what is wrong with you, or do you just want to keep beating around the bush with small talk?"

Fingers pressed into her temples and brows tightly furrowed, she sat quietly processing all of the questions floating in her mind till the loudest one made it out of her mouth to Genkai's ears, "Is there something wrong with me?"

"To put it bluntly, everything about you screams wrong." Now it was Genkai's turn to look the other up and down. "Your figure is childlike and looks like it was forcibly stretched to be taller, showing no signs of maturity while your face…well it looks more like someone walked up to a young woman cut her head off and stuck it onto your body. Your eyes have no color to them and are glazed over as if you are dead and to top that off, you talk as if you're older than myself, which is a troubling thought."

To be honest Kokoro had never even seen her own reflection, or at least not that she could remember, so to hear herself described in such a grotesque manner made the ache in her head ten times worse than before. Not meaning to interrupt, she was unable to hold the new strongest question in her head from her lips while stuttering in pain and confusion, "From…from what you have said, it…it is safe to assume that I…I have no…as you called it…aura. Is…is that common?"

"It isn't that you don't have an aura, it's more like you don't have one until you start rubbing at your head like you are now, and even then it's this small and frail trace, smaller than that of an animal, yet despite its size and weakness it screams and makes my own head throb. To answer your first question; yes, something is very wrong with you. As for your second one..." Genkai paused her words as if to double check what her response was going to be then continued, her words sounding more confident than before, "No, it's not common and I can honestly say that in all my years I haven't come across something even remotely like it before."

The throbbing started to become overbearing as Kokoro held her head in her hands and gritted her teeth towards the fresh questions and statements Genkai caused to float through her head. "How…how can you help then?"

Sighing Genkai looked back at the garden outside. "I've lost much of my spunk over the past few years and as much as I hate to admit it, can't do half of what I use to, but those youngsters I mentioned earlier…" Pausing for a fragment of a second she turned to meet Kokoro's haunting stare. "They will be able to help. How, will remain a mystery until we figure out what's going on in that noggin of yours, but there isn't much that those kids can't deal with. I can't and won't guarantee it will be painless, and who knows how long it might take but this home of mine, and those youngsters are here for a purpose; helping and using their talents to do what they can when and if the situation comes." Grinning to herself, and making the seriousness of the situation dissipate somewhat, she finished her musing with a cheeky tone, "So still think you'll want to stick around and figure out what your story is?"

Kokoro sat still for several moments. First trying to calm the storm of questions and pain in her head. Then, began taking in everything that she had just heard. As harsh and odd as her new acquaintance might seem, she found herself trusting every word that the wise old woman had said. Finally gaining somewhat control over the headache raging war in her head, she released her temples from her grasp and placed them back in her lap while she looked Genkai in the eye. "At this point, I would be one of those 'dimwits' you mentioned before if I did not stay, would I not?"

Genkai smiled and responded, "No, you'd be dumber than that if you left."

As if Genkai's previous words were a whistle to call someone's attention, the peaceful quiet of their surroundings was cut by the sound of two males conversing outside.

"Well speaking of the brats." Groaning as she stood, Genkai walked to the open doorway and shouted at the voices outside, "Kuwabara, Kurama, stop your clucking and get your asses in here." Turning back around and returning to her seat at the table her attention went back to her once forgotten tea cup.

At the idea of meeting more people Kokoro stared towards the doorway, not knowing what to expect of these persons. Images of men and women in their middle ages, each wearing their own ornate martial arts uniform while they gathered in groups to meditate, flew through her head.

"What's up, Genkai?"

Confusion filled her head as the imaginations of these new people were shattered. She was not expecting to hear a street kid's slang from the first male, and she was even more taken for a loop with seeing him to be a true youngster, as Genkai had put it, in his twenties and dressed so casually in a sleeveless shirt and basketball shorts. The man jumped into the room quickly and stood staring down at Genkai, completely oblivious to Kokoro's presence, and she took that opportunity to quickly size up the stranger. He was very tall, at least six foot, with a strong muscular build and vibrant orange hair combed into a pompadour style, add in his sharp angled face and pointed nose, he appeared to be an easy to remember character. However she did not get the same chance to quietly observe upon the other male as he walked in and noticed her presence before she could notice his own.

"Yes, is everything al…oh our apologizes, we were not aware that there was company present."

Turning her head to the doorway Kokoro met the emerald gaze of the second male. Apparently her assumption in that Genkai's term of 'youngsters' was loosely based, in fact was very accurate. This other man, though carrying himself more confidently than the other with his casual dress attire, long red hair pulled into a high pony tail and soft yet clearly masculine build, he too could not be any more than twenty-five years in age. _'Though he is looking at me with eyes that seem older than Genkai…'_

Not being allowed to ponder over the two men, the first turned to his companion with a confused look on his face, then he turned his gaze to what had gotten the second's attention and he all but jumped out of his shoes. "Whoa! Where did he come from?"

_'He? No, surely this man is not referring to me…is he?' _Looking to the over exuberant man and realizing he was indeed speaking of her, Kokoro stared in confusion until she recalled Genkai's description of her. _'Well then…I really must be an odd site then.' _Quickly deciding she did not want to deal with an awkward silence and false impressions, Kokoro stood and turned to give a small bow to the boys. "Hello, I am Kokoro, and you two would be?"

The garnet haired male smiled politely and was quick to lean forward into a responding bow, "I am Kurama, nice to meet you Kokoro."

As the second male now known as Kurama, returned to his standing position, the other, who must be the Kuwabara Genkai shouted earlier, scrunched up his face and let his eyes grow wide forgetting to introduce himself and instead asking, "Kokoro? Wait isn't that a girl's name?" Kurama's eyes closed as he sighed towards his friend and went to sit beside Genkai at the table.

Staring blankly at the man Kokoro responded while sitting back down to resume her sitting position as well, "Yes, it is." Kuwabara just stared at her as if he could not comprehend the concept while Genkai passed Kurama a cup of tea and Kokoro withdrew her attention back to the woman in front of her. _'Genkai I trust. However…these two are who I am to actually rely on for help?'_


	4. Chapter 3

**AUTHORS NOTE:** Thanks for making it through the boring beginning chapters and reading this far! Shinnanigans will begin to happen here shortly, no worries. This is my first story in over four years, so originally it was a rough starting back off, but just like riding a bike things are coming back.

**I own nothing other than Kokoro and this story**. Though I wouldn't mind keeping my own personal Genkai for whenever I need a pick me up.

Chapter 3

Kokoro felt the pain in her head subside almost to a complete stop as the two new distractions, Kurama and Kuwabara sat beside her and the psychic, Genkai. After the brief meeting of the two it was blatantly apparent that the street kid, Kuwabara wore his emotions on his sleeve and not one for formalities, whereas the other, Kurama, was very calm, collected and polite however, he was the one that made her worry. Kuwabara was easy to understand and predict just from the first two minutes and seemed to not be any form of a threat, especially after his obnoxious and consistent apologizing for confusing her with a man, while the other was as quiet as she was, as if he was also taking in information and processing the situation before them. Why finding someone else that seemed just as equally intelligent worried her, Kokoro had no idea but, that was the least of her concerns at the moment.

Genkai had finished her tea while Kuwabara completed up his fifth account on Kokoro's odd appearance, and the psychic took that opportunity to show her annoyance. "Will you just shut up already?" Kuwabara turned to his mentor and closed his mouth quickly, allowing the once forgotten peace of the room to return. Kurama chuckled to himself at his friend's frightened facial expression while Kuwabara muttered a small, "Sorry Genkai" before lowering his head in shame. As much as his talking of her appearance should have bothered her, Kokoro instead had been taking his words as a chance to try and imagine how she must appear to them and just like Genkai's description, she really sounded like a grotesque oddity. Good thing she did not care at all if she was hideous or pretty, information was what seemed to be her own version of vanity.

Genkai sighed and lowered the level of severity in her voice as she spoke to those occupying the room while motioning to Kokoro, "I found this girl here in the training room at the crack of dawn this morning and just like you two, I also was shocked to see her."

"Well finally someone else agrees that she's a freaky site!"

Chucking her now empty tea cup at the orange haired boy Genkai yelled, "I thought I told you to shut up, dimwit!"

Kurama took this as an opportunity to turn to Kokoro and smile. "You must excuse Kuwabara, he really is a kindhearted he just sometimes forgets to think before he speaks."

Blinking at him she nodded her head in response, "It is alright, to be honest I do not mind his words however, the volume in which he speaks them is rather irksome."

Kurama chuckled at her words, "Yes, well you will get used to it over time."

Genkai scoffed and joined the conversation, "Yeah maybe you can but I know myself and a short tempered demon, still haven't grown used to it and also wouldn't mind muzzling the idiot."

Kokoro watched Kuwabara's mouth move as he muttered something under his breath but quickly made a zipping motion across his lips as he saw Genkai glaring him down. _'This is one very…intriguing group.'_

Clearing her throat Genkai gained everyone's attention once more, "As I was saying, Kokoro here appears to not give off any signs of life, aura or otherwise. As you can see she doesn't appear to be breathing and within the few hours we have been chatting she hasn't once touched the tea I gave her while her fondness for formalities proves to me that she would normally still drink it, even if she didn't care for it."

_'I do not breathe?_' Rubbing at her temples Kokoro furrowed her brows contemplating this new information while watching Genkai smile as the two men frowned for some odd reason.

"And then there is that." Looking directly at Genkai as she continued to speak, while the confusion of Kokoro's face grew as the throbbing started to get stronger behind her eyes. "Each time I ask her a question or she hears something about herself she didn't realize, she appears to get a headache and while she's digging into her forehead, you can sense that energy coming off of her, which makes me believe that she isn't a spirit." Now Kokoro wasn't the only one furrowing her brows in the room.

"It doesn't even feel like energy, more like screaming," Kuwabara stated with a pondering expression on his face, which Kokoro noticed did not quite suit him properly.

"Yes, it does comes across almost like a strangled scream." Kurama placed his forefinger on his chin in a thoughtful pose, which suited him more so than his comrade, while he stared through the strange girl as if some creature was bouncing around behind her. "Yet it is faint, somewhat like those three students of Metamura's at the Dark Tournament, but also different in a way."

_'I am screaming? Others like myself? I thought Genkai said that she has not come across someone like me before? Who is Metamura? What is the Dark Tournament? Who exactly are these people?'_ The number of questions in Kokoro's head grew to an intense amount as she tried not to dig her fingernails into her scalp from the pain. Kokoro watched the faces of the people around her grow even more troubled in thought.

As if Genkai heard her questions she took control of the conversation once more, "It is only similar to theirs in the fact that it is a cry for help but, if you look at everything else about this girl, added in with the fact that she can't remember anything but her name from before she 'woke up' in the training room, this is a completely different situation entirely."

"You do not remember anything before arriving here?"

Turning to Kurama, Kokoro rubbed the back of her palm against her forehead in a new attempt to still the pulsing and replied with a silent shake of the head, "No…only information from books." Trying to not stutter as much she cleared her throat and continued, "I have knowledge of history, fables and all other sorts of topics one finds in a library however, nothing more. I did not even know what my appearance looked like until Genkai had to describe it earlier."

Tapping his index finger against his chin the red head sat in silence for a moment before continuing, "It is interesting than that of all places in the world to end up, it is here that she comes across." Shifting his eyes to meet Genkai's, Kurama let his hand fall back to his tea cup to finish its contents. "I would like to know how she heard about us and what the intentions are behind the source."

Genkai nodded her head agreeing with his statement, "My thoughts exactly."

Kuwabara was about to pop from withholding his comments on the subject and with no longer being able to contain himself stated, "Wish we could just call the shorty up and have him take a look at that messed up head of hers."

Kurama closed his eyes and shook his head as Genkai sighed and rolled her eyes at the boy next to her. "Yes, 'cuz you know we can just call him up whenever we want." Sarcasm was dripping from her words as the psychic added, "Especially after your little temper tantrum at him the last time he stopped by."

Defending himself, Kuwabara held a hand up in a clutched fist and stated in his overbearing tone, "Hey! That little freak needs to learn that Yukina is not available and he can't come prancing around trying to steal someone else's girl! So yeah, of course I went off on him!"

"Please…can you please lower your voice?" All eyes turned back to Kokoro to find her eyes clenched shut, face twisted in agonizing pain and hands clutching at her ears while her fingers bore into her scalp.

"Kurama, why don't you show her around the grounds for a moment? I need to have a word with this dimwit."

"What! What did I do this time?"

_'Does he not have a volume control?'_ Opening her eyes to squint, determined not to allow the throbs to take full control over her, Kokoro found an outstretched hand being offered to her. Lifting her eye lids up fully and looking up she saw Kurama standing next to her with a grin on his face.

"It would be best if we leave now, and I show you the grounds while they speak."

Letting go of her ears and wincing Kokoro placed her hands on her thighs as she sat up on her own, "Thank you but I am fine to move on my own." She did not mean to sound rude but, she also refused to be regarded as weak, why she had no idea and it made her head throb stronger than before and an uncanny lightheadedness to begin. Swaying and barely catching her balance as she stood, Kokoro slowly moved alongside Kurama out of the building and through the garden.

Shouting could be heard coming from where they had previously been and Kokoro was thankful for the distance forming between her and the sounds. Sighing, she closed her eyes and allowed the tranquility of the outdoors take over the task of calming the rage her brain was waging against her. She was listening to Kurama point out different buildings as they walked along the grounds, which was just as large as she had originally expected. Standing alongside yet, not going beyond the tree line into the forests he even pointed to where the property lines were, miles away all around them. It took at least an hour before the initial tour was done and as she stared out at the mountains far off in the distance she found that the throbs were going down, yet not nearly as well as they had previously much to her disdain.

"Genkai said that you and some others could help me, is that true?" She could feel Kurama's gaze on her and after a few moments she turned to him to watch as he turned and took her spot looking out at the scenery around them, a gentle expression on his face.

"I believe we can, yes. However, I also think that those headaches of yours will only get worse as we attempt to figure out what exactly is going on." Meeting her gaze with wise eyes he continued, "Knowing this do you still want our help?"

"Yes." For some reason she had answered his question faster than she had expected, and did not even realize it was her own voice that had responded at first. Kurama smiled at her and turned back to the forests as she wondered why she had not examined his question like she had done with everything else earlier this morning. Wincing Kokoro found the throbbing trying to take over again, and in a quest to quiet it asked, "Are Genkai, Kuwabara and yourself psychics?"

Chuckling Kurama shook his head, "Genkai is, she is regarded as one of the best psychics in the world, even with her passing her legacy down to a student of hers. Kuwabara is spiritually aware yes but, he is no psychic. He use to fight alongside Yusuke, who is Genkai's successor, myself and a friend of ours that he likes to call 'shorty'."

"Was that who he was referring to earlier?"

"Yes," Kurama sighed. "His name is Hiei and he and Kuwabara have never really seen eye to eye, and over the past few years their squabbling has grown to an all new level. Honestly the majority of us just tune it out now." Motioning to the grass bellow them he asked, "Care to sit here and answer each other's questions? I feel as though Genkai is not quite through with Kuwabara just yet."

Nodding her head Kokoro sat next to him in the grass and stared at a group of birds flying above them. "You never said if you were a psychic or not."

With a grin on his face he leaned back and looked up at the clouds above. "No, I am not a psychic."

His answer caused a frown to form on her face as more questions began to form in her mind. _'Then why does his eyes seem to carry more wisdom than Genkai's?'_

"Here is a proposition for you." Shifting her eyes to look in his direction, she met his emerald gaze. "We both have questions for each other, so how about we take turns and get some off our minds now while we have the time?" The way he spoke continued to amaze her, he could almost be a negotiator with how he phrased things and spoke in such a calm tone. _'I might need to watch myself around him, he is too strange for my liking.' _

"Alright, sounds fair to me."

He smiled back at her and returned to looking up at the sky while he spoke. "Do those headaches of yours occur more so when you ask a question or when one is answered?"

Frowning she thought back to the hours before and answered, "It occurs when I ask questions and sometimes when they are answered if they cause more to arise. However, when I get answers the throbbing is not nearly as harsh as it is when the questions just pile up in my head." Kokoro crossed her legs as she thought of one of the many questions she would like to have answered before finally settling on one. "How many people live here and are they all 'spiritually aware,' as you put it?"

"The only people that live here, besides Genkai, are Yukina and myself. Yukina is a very kind hearted demon and is able to do things normal humans cannot. Kuwabara just visits on some of the weekends when his classes are not in session, and he is a very spiritually aware human like his older sister, Shizuru who comes up quite frequently to visit but, she lives several cities over. Yusuke and his fiancé Keiko also visit when they can, he is a strange case being part demon and human while Keiko is just a kind normal human. Hiei, who is a rather strong demon, will stop by maybe once or twice a month to check up on things but, he resides in the demon world and does not quite care for the smell of the living world so he tries to avoid it at all costs." Shrugging his shoulders Kurama grinned and added, "Or at least that is what he claims."

Kokoro did not notice his evasion of speaking of himself and rather asked aloud what was plaguing her mind the most at that moment, "What do you mean by demon world and living world?"

Kurama turned his head to face her at that question narrowing his eyelids while thinking for several moments before answering her question with one of his own, "You do not know of the other realms?" Kokoro shook her head and stared back at him, confusion written all over her face. Kurama once again turned to look back at the sky above but kept the expression on his face as he answered her question simply, "There are three worlds, one being the one we are in right now, the human realm otherwise known as living world, where humans exist without almost no contact with the other two, minus the exceptions of those that are more spiritually aware like Kuwabara, Shizuru and Genkai. Then the second is the demon world, where strong and old creatures roam in a way the humans view as complete chaos but, the demons see as comfort and normality. The last is the spirit world, which reigns over the living and holds control over a small fragment of the demon world, they are the ones that seek to help maintain order so each world can carry on in peace."

"And your friend Hiei, he lives in the demon world?"

"Yes, but we have friends in the spirit world as well." They both sat in the silence while she watched the birds again and digested this new information. "You do not seem too surprised by what I have said."

She watched a sparrow fly around its smaller friend in a playful manner and replied, "Well, Genkai had mentioned earlier about demons, and it does not seem too farfetched, especially with how you three were speaking earlier." The smaller bird dived in front of the other and the banter between the two winged creatures turned into a rhythmic dance. "I should be shocked by this information that is true however, it reminds me of something I must have read in the past that said that myths are always somewhat based on true happenings. It seems logical that the normal human mind that only works at less than half of its capacity rules out all acceptance to otherwise thought of, occult and otherworldly beings. It does seem however, that Genkai, yourself and the others that you spoke of use more of your mind than average, though Kuwabara does not seem to show it in the same sense that you two do, the notions then become very plausible."

Kurama chuckled at her statement and asked, "How old are you, Kokoro?"

Furrowing her brows as she watched the birds descend into the treetops, she pondered his question. It was simple enough so why she could not come up with an answer made the throbbing return once more. "I…I am not sure."

Kurama sat up and watched her as she returned to massaging her temples. "Earlier you said you could recollect reading something in the past, is all that you seem to be able to remember what you have read?"

Thinking back once more on everything that had transpired earlier she answered his inquiry without question, "Yes, it appears to be that way as far as I can tell at least."

"Hrmm…Are you fond of libraries?"

"I can not recall ever stepping inside of one but, I would not mind going." Silence befell the two again as it was now his turn to absorb what she had just stated, and with the birds now out of view Kokoro went to watching the leaves on the trees as they swayed in the breeze.

"What is your opinion on hypnotism?"

"It seems like a good theory in text though there are many deciding factors on if it actually would work on someone. The person being hypnotized would have to be able to clear their mind completely without allowing any thoughts to roam, which is honestly a hard task in my opinion but, if they are able to, it seems like it would be the best way to help them recall things once lost fairly well."

"And if there was something to aid the person to clear their mind?"

Frowning she turned to meet his gaze once more. _'Those eyes…there is something about them that I just can not put my finger on…' _"Are you wanting to put drugs in my system in order to use hypnotism and see if I can recall how I ended up here?"

She was expecting him to laugh or smile at her question but with the straightest face he nodded his head. "Yes, I would like to try it at least though, we would not be using drugs per say. With how you have spoken thus far it would seem like that might be the best option to cause not just your appearance here but maybe a good deal more to surface."

Contemplating the idea Kokoro could not find any reason why she would turn it down, _'In theory it really could help and it seems like a safe enough option…' _"I see no reason why we could not try it."

At hearing her answer Kurama stood and tilted his head in the direction of where Genkai and Kuwabara were. "I feel like they have settled things by now, care to head back?"

"Sure." Standing the two walked back to discus with Genkai and Kuwabara Kurama's idea on how to start the process of receiving her memories.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Kokoro and Kurama were silent on the walk back to the sitting room where they found Genkai quietly sipping on a new cup of tea while Kuwabara lay unconscious on the floor with a large knot forming on his head. Kurama went to sit down at the table as if the site was not uncommon, whereas Kokoro stared at the street kid sprawled out on the floor, "Is he going to be alright?"

"Yeah, don't mind him." Looking from Kuwabara to Genkai and Kurama, she found no traces of worry or concern upon on the two's faces and took that and the psychic's words as encouragement to ignore the boy and join the two at the table. "I'm assuming you two had a friendly little chat while I was dealing with that dimwit over there?"

Kurama nodded his head and responded to Genkai's words, "Yes, and it has made the seriousness of her arriving here seem that much more severe."

Genkai set her cup down onto the table top, crossing her arms across her chest and closing her eyes in her thoughtful manner. "You've come up with a plan, then?" Kokoro silently watched the two, wondering if there was a hidden message behind their conversation but, ignored her own musing to focus on the issue at hand.

"Yes. From what Kokoro has said it seems that at least some of her memories are still there, buried or hidden from normal view as if she herself is not permitted to access them. I feel that if we were to use the pollen from a plant of mine we could induce her mind into a hypnotized state and gain access to some of the questions we need answered."

_'Pollen? I suppose that is not a drug after all but…it seems like a very odd choice to use. I wonder what kind of plant would create such a thing.'_

Genkai opened one of her eyes to look at Kurama as he waited patiently for her opinion on the concept. After several moments of silence the psychic sighed and stood to walk out of the room. "Well, what are we waiting for? Kurama, go collect some of that pollen of yours and meet us back in the training room."

Taking her words as if they were orders, Kurama and Kokoro stood and exited the room, he went to the left towards the tree line of the forest while Genkai and Kokoro took a right headed for the place where they had met just hours before. "Will Kuwabara be alright to just leave there?"

Genkai made a sound that seemed like a scoff and a chuckle mixed into one while they took the few steps onto the training room's porch. "As I said before, don't worry about him."

Before entering the building a droplet of water fell upon Kokoro's scalp, causing her to look up at the clouds above. The once gorgeous afternoon sky was now turning dreary and encased in the blackest clouds imaginable signifying a strong storm approaching. _'Is this a sign of what to expect from this experiment? I truly hope it is not…' _She turned away from the clouds and continued to follow Genkai into the familiar room as they waited for Kurama's arrival. Silence between herself and the psychic had not seemed to bother her at all previously this morning and afternoon however, now the anticipation of everything was making the tranquility of it turn to foreboding and tension. Will it work? Was this 'pollen' safe? Would she and the others accept what they found if they found anything at all?

The throbbing returned as Kurama stepped into the room carrying a small satchel and the sky outside began its downpour.

"Let's get started shall we?"

Following Genkai and Kurama's instructions Kokoro found herself laying face up on the floor, the psychic sitting in a cross legged pose on her left side and the strange red head kneeling beside her on her right. Kurama had begun to untie the small bag he was carrying as he started to list off an explanation of what was about to occur, "The moment this comes in contact with you, your ability to control your body will be gone and your mind will respond to any orders I command of it. There is no need to worry, I will not ask much and when I give the order for you to wake up you will come back in control once more. Are you ready?"

If Genkai was not present beside her, Kokoro was certain she would never agree to this man's experiment, he was too carefree with his words as he had explained what was about to transpire and it made her worry even more as to what was going on behind those wise emerald eyes. Nodding her head she watched as he calmly poured a small amount of brown dust like particles from the bag and onto her face. True to his word, the moment the substance hit her face Kokoro fell into a hypnotized state, eyes closed and completely unaware of her surroundings or her now empty mind.

Kurama retied the bag to discard it to the side as he met Genkai's awaiting stare. "If you could, please focus on if that energy arises again and inform me if it fluctuates, I will have to focus my own energy towards controlling her thought processes and depending, this could take quite a good deal of time." His friend simply nodded her head and closed her eyes as his attention turned towards the bizarre woman laying before them. What is she? Is her presence at this safe haven of theirs a warning or simply an act of desperation? How had she found them? Sighing and focusing his energy, the fox spirit began the process. _'The questions will become answered here shortly.'_

"Kokoro, is that your name?"

The woman's mind answered his question and allowed her body to reply with an emotionless tone, "Yes."

"Good, now Kokoro I want you to go back for me to the first thing you remember and tell me what you see and hear."

Her mind was at his mercy as her haunting tone of voice filled the quiet room, "I am playing in the living room with daddy, though he does not seem to be very into our game."

"How old are you?"

"Six, I am six years old."

"Where is your mother?"

"Heaven. Only daddy is here."

"Tell me about him."

"He is tall, balding and always seems so very tired and weak. He is always home with me during the day but, always leaves when he thinks I am asleep at night."

"Is he human?"

"Yes. We both are."

Furrowing his brows in confusion Kurama continued his interrogation, "Continue telling me what you see."

"Daddy and I are passing my yellow ball back and forth, I am giggling while he seems to not be interested and keeps having to get up to check the window for some odd reason, I ask him why he keeps doing it but he will not give me an answer. There is a knock at our door, daddy is practically running to answer it."

"Who is at the door?"

"I am not sure, daddy says for me to stay where I am and not move. Whoever it is, they are making daddy cry…Oh its Uncle! Uncle why are you making daddy cry? Uncle is taking my hand and leading me out the door." Kokoro's voice began to stutter as she continued to relay what she was seeing. "There…there is someone else with Uncle…There…There is a loud bang sound from where the man and daddy are standing…I…I am trying to look back at my daddy but Uncle tells me I better not. Daddy's crying has stopped."

Kurama looked to Genkai for any sign of a change in their atmosphere and upon seeing her unmoved from her previous position, returned to the task at hand, "Was it a gunshot that you heard?"

Kokoro's words were now very shaky as her mind allowed her body to answer Kurama's question, "Y…yes…Uncle…Uncle says daddy was paying him back for what he owes him…We…we are getting into Uncle's car now…He will not let me go get my toys, he says I will not be needing any trinkets anymore..."

"Alright, now tell me where the car takes you."

"Uncle's home. I have never been here before but, it is really beautiful. There are a large amount of trees around us and there is an equally large amount of men surrounding the mansion. Uncle is talking to one of them while we go inside, he seems really excited saying something about the debt is taken care of and he can start work on the project now. I can barely hear them, the hallways are so pretty, I can not stop looking around."

"Listen to your Uncle and the man and tell me what they are saying."

"The man Uncle is talking to says that the event started less than thirty minutes ago, Uncle seems irritated but, claims he does not mind considering what he has accomplished. They are silent now and the man is walking in front of us to a panel on the wall. Oh! It is a hidden door and I can hear people laughing inside. I have always wanted to play in a secret hide out."

"Kokoro?"

Turning his head quickly to the left of where they were sitting Kurama found none other than Yukina standing in the now dark entrance of the room with a shocked expression on her face and a hand covering her mouth. Moving his head back to the catatonic woman in front of him he returned his focus on the project at hand. "Genkai, I will pause this for a moment if you could speak with Yukina?"

Genkai opened her eyes looking at the young ice demon standing in the door way and motioned for her to come sit with them. "You know this woman?"

The short girl sat beside her mentor and kept her piercing red eyes on the woman lying on the floor. "Yes, I met her once a very long time ago when I was imprisoned. I thought she was a ghost haunting the tower but, here she is?"

Genkai stared at Yukina sitting in complete shock besides her, a confused look now growing on her own aged face. "Kurama, ask that woman who this Uncle is that she's speaking of."

Complying Kurama asked and the room grew silent with Kokoro's answer, "Uncle Tarukane."

"Well shit." Reaching into her pocket Genkai pulled out a pack of cigarettes and went about pulling one out and lighting it. Taking a long drag she began to explain to Yukina what had transpired this morning and what they were now doing in hopes to gain information on the woman. "You said she showed up in your prison?"

Yukina nodded her head once more and spoke, all the while not tearing her gaze from the strange woman before them, "It was right after the Toguro brothers had left, she just appeared out of nowhere leaning against the wall of my cell and told me that I shouldn't cry, it was only what they wanted out of me. She spoke to me the entire night, telling me stories that made me laugh and realize that all humans were not like the one keeping me locked up. When we could hear the brothers returning the next day I asked her what her name was before she vanished and that was all I saw of her."

"She vanished?"

"Yes, just like she appeared, her body turned translucent and she faded into the air."

"Kurama?"

Hearing Yukina's words a new set of inquiries came from Kurama's mouth directed towards the woman under his spell. "Kokoro, I want you to tell me what is in that room that Tarukane is taking you into and then I need you to forget this memory."

The woman's lips began to tremble as she described the horror of what her childhood-self witnessed, "It is dark, I am scared but Uncle tells me I better keep walking, he is no longer holding my hand and is somewhere behind me. I can see a light and am now running towards it but…oh the blood…Those poor creatures and people… I do not want to play in this hidden room anymore…There is so much blood! Please Uncle I do not want to be here anymore. Why are those men hurting them so? Uncle is laughing, says I need to stay and watch because it is my future. I ask him why and he is laughing again. Science, testing he says, and entertainment of the finest forms. People are grabbing me now, very strange people and they are dragging me through the blood to a new room. Please…no…No!" Kokoro was screaming at the end of her recollection and the tension of the room the four were in was thick enough to choke the air out of their lungs. Genkai did not have to tell Kurama that the woman's aura was growing, they all could feel it right into their souls.

"Kokoro forget the memory." Upon hearing Kurama's order the woman stopped her trembling lips and shouting. With a new reason for locating answers in his mind he gave a new order, "Now I want you to tell me the last thing you remember before finding yourself the way you are now."

"Fluids…they are pouring fluids all around me. I…I can not move, the metal on my wrists are too tight and I am too small to fight. There are tubes in my arms and mouth, it hurts to try and speak. I can hear a beeping starting from one of their machines. The water is up to my chin now…how am I to breathe? I am struggling to keep my head above it but it is pouring in too fast. That scary man is watching and laughing at me again, says what I am doing will not help and I need to just be a good girl and calm the fuck down. The water is above my head now and I can see a new dark colored liquid going through the tubes in my body. It burns! My skin! I can not scream. Help, someone please make it all stop!"

"Kokoro, forget this memory just like you did with the other one." Obliging, the woman's screams stopped once more. "Now I need you to tell me how you came to find our home."

"I am looking for that beautiful girl with the mint colored hair, I want to make sure she is doing alright but, I have not been able to find her. I hope she escaped…I do not have much time left to look…I need to find her soon…Maybe she can make me smile like I did for her? All I want is to smile one last time…"

Yukina's eyes were brimming with tears as she held her hands up to her mouth, while Genkai lit up a new cigarette and Kurama's hands clenched tightly in his lap. The emotions of each of the three were similar; they pitied the woman, were furious with the deceased man and organization he founded that they had once thought had been a thing of the past, and they were now determined to help whatever way they could.

Kurama gritted his teeth as he gave the final order, "Kokoro, I want you to wake up now."

Thunder sounded from outside the building, the only light eliminating the room now was the lightning flashing occasionally outside and the embers from Genkai's cigarette. The trio watched as the woman opened her eyes and vanished before them, her aura and voice screaming louder than the storm raging outside.

Yukina's tears began to fall to the floor making a small sound as they crystalized into gems. "Is she still alive?"

Genkai flicked her cigarette to the side as she crossed her arms and furrowed her brows answering her crying friend's question, "Yes, I think what you witnessed in the past and what we just saw was Kokoro's astral projection of herself. It is rare but, if she's in a coma-like state and still experiencing the intense amount of pain she was describing to us, she could easily cast herself out away from it in a last ditch hope for help and I'd say she did a damn good job at asking for it."

"We have to find her."

Kurama looked to his clenched fists and watched as blood trickled out from his palms and onto his pant leg. "We will."


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

"Let's get started shall we?"

Following Genkai and Kurama's instructions Kokoro found herself lying face up on the floor, the psychic sitting in a cross legged pose on her left side and the strange red head kneeling beside her on her right. Kurama had begun to untie the small bag he was carrying as he started to list off an explanation of what was about to occur, "The moment this comes in contact with you, your ability to control your body will be gone and your mind will respond to any orders I command of it. There is no need to worry, I will not ask much and when I give the order for you to wake up you will come back in control once more. Are you ready?"

If Genkai was not present beside her, Kokoro was certain she would never agree to this man's experiment, he was too carefree with his words as he had explained what was about to transpire and it made her worry even more as to what was going on behind those wise emerald eyes. Nodding her head she watched as he calmly poured a small amount of brown dust like particles from the bag and onto her face. True to his word, the moment the substance hit her face Kokoro fell into a hypnotized state, eyes closed and completely unaware of her surroundings or her now empty mind.

…..

Everything was black and there was nothing, she was nothing. There was no worrying or feeling and no reason to but, just as quick and graciously as it had come a gentle voice called to her shaking the tranquility that took over her soul and body, "Kokoro, I want you to wake up now."

The voice sounded familiar yet also very troubled, why was it troubled? With the ability to think returning, Kokoro began wondering whose voice it was that called out to her and why it made her chest leap. _'Wait…what is that?'_

Thumping, not in her head but, in her chest. Was this a heartbeat? Was the pain in her head healed? Did they find answers? Slowly opening her eyes in accordance to the voice's orders Kokoro found the image of the beautiful feudal-era ceiling marred by…water? Why was there water all the way to the ceiling in this vast room? They were located on the top of a large hill, had time passed that long with the storm's rage to cause a mass flooding? Were they drowning? There was that pang again…Who was the owner of that voice? _'Oh yes, it was Kurama. He was in control of the trance with that pollen of hi…' _Her thoughts went blank not from another spurt of tranquil nothingness but, with searing mind numbing pain enveloping her entirety. Eyes shooting wide open now, the image of the wooden ceiling blurred as the water took over her obscured vision. What was that ear splitting sound?

Beeping…the sound of liquid pumping through tubes…The cursed synchronized rhythm…

Kokoro found her spirit back in its body, held captive in her glass prison encased by water. With her spirit's memories now filling in the blank holes of her body's and her body's filling in her spirits, her story, as Genkai had plainly called it, came to piece like that of a jigsaw puzzle. All that was left to fill in was her final moments which were surely about to unfold.

The pain was unbearable though, her throat and other bodily orifices should have grown use to the feeling of inches of tubing shoved precisely and carelessly throughout her insides, especially after the many years since they were imbedded within her yet, the agony was worse than her last wake. This time she could hardly open her eyes above a faction of a centimeter. She could feel the pain, oh how she could feel the misery of it all yet, her skin tingled in numbness. Her time was running short, her body and soul could no longer do their dance in hopes to save her. How many years had it been exactly? Only those creatures holding her could know the true number and she honestly did not want to know, maybe had she awoken in freedom she could accept the years of agonizing stress filled torment but here, held within the glass, she did not want to think of it. Her body had given in to the torture long ago whereas her mind had broken down, unable to cope and in order to keep herself intact for a hope to escape Kokoro had sent her spirit out of her body. _'Yes, that is correct…' _Her spirit and body were making a conversation of sorts, making sense of the different memory fragments shoved forcibly together. _'I was unable to find her…that beautiful girl…Maybe my incarceration has lasted longer than her lifespan? ...No matter…there will be no time for idle musing and hopes here shortly…'_

Kokoro's mind shut down enough to turn her thoughts off as the burning sensations throughout her veins took over her rationality however, her body still held on with enough control to make an attempt of a scream around the plastic in her mouth as her eyes opened trying to make out what was outside of the blurred water and glass surrounding her. It was all nothing but grey and blue, the same as it always was with only one exception; motion. One of the darker grey figures beyond the blue of the water was moving and seeming to come closer. The sound of fluids rushing around her came to a complete halt as the figure took over the entire glass wall in front of her. The sound of complete nothingness was odd, she would consider the term of soothing for describing it later on, if there even was a later on, but it was so foreign not hearing the fluidity that her mind came back to life frail and weak but very much afraid. What is to come? Is this death meeting me? Is the pain over? No fight…no attempt at life? Just…over…? If her heart had the capability to break and make the burning worse, it did and it did it well.

The blurring of the plain colors got more intense than ever before, along with the pangs and frequent muscle spasms the liquid the tubes poured into her caused. The liquid, had it stopped pouring into her? Why was the water around her moving? There was tension pulling at her from the bottom of her container, like that of the suction from a drain as the water lowered bellow her head and outstretched arms, causing the pain of weight to become a new sensation_. 'Gravity…you truly are a bastard.'_ As the water completely drained from her prison Kokoro found her body being held up agonizingly from the tubes inside of her, that is until a sound resembling a click filled her ears and her weight went tumbling to the cold floor. _'Cold…this is new…All of this…what does it mean? I thought my time was…'_

Lying face down and sprawled out across the tile, she found the ability to move impossible. How long had it been since she was able to find the energy to move a finger? Would she be able to walk? Run?

'_No…I…I cannot…'_

A new sound graced her sensitive hearing one that her spirit recognized as a door opening and then laughter and clacking of shoes onto the tile. Someone was now standing over her but, who?

"This has been a long time coming however, the machines say that you are ready. But we will be the judges of that now wont we, D4?"

_'D4?'_

Slimy hands grasped her torso and lifted her from the ground, the sensation of touch itself feeling vile and rough. Was this creature purposely hurting her? Or was this new pain caused by sensitivity after all of these years in confinement? Eyes opening in curiosity Kokoro watched as a horrifying grey colored being placed her on a table, his odd three fingered hand slapping on something and then the most gruesome pain of all began. Slowly and painfully the blurry creature began removing each tube from her body saving the one muffling her screams for last.

_'This is the end…I am sure of it…'_

A clap of earthshaking thunder outside met Kokoro's mangled screams as the examination began.

….

The sound of rain pelting the roof filled the room draining out the chimes of crystalized gems clacking to the floor. _'Yukina is too upset and not a fighter at that though, her healing powers might provide useful…Genkai has not left the property in years, and at this point in her life I would have to worry for her as well if I were to take her along...'_ Kurama's brain began to form a plan as he paced the floor in front of the upset ice maiden and his elderly friend. He was not one to rush in without a strategy however, in this situation time seemed to be of the essence and he would not be able to handle the guilt he would feel for the poor woman's death if he did not make it in time. Let alone be able to face the very emotional Yukina, and Hiei would also not be too fond at finding out that the fox spirit's lack of swiftness caused his sister to cry more so than she already was doing now but, not knowing anything other than the backstory of what he was about to enter into it would not be wise to try pulling a Yusuke or Kuwabara; running off and brandishing angry fists.

Thunder clapped outside as its sister lightning flashed and showed a tall, drenched figure panting in the doorway. "Guys…I don't know what you did but whatever it was that chick…arg." Kuwabara grabbed his head in what appeared to be pain as he walked towards his friends while Kurama halted his pacing. "I woke up to the sound of that girl screaming and images of a freakishly familiar mansion, blood and water and laughing…" Pausing his words upon seeing his beloved Yukina sitting alongside Genkai, wiping her face and collecting small stones from the ground, Kuwabara then turned to Kurama anger replacing the pain he had originally shown. "Those images…Tarukane's mansion right?"

Kurama curtly nodded his head in response.

Kuwabara mirrored his red headed friend and clenched his fists in rage, "Thought we showed those bastards…Fuck!" With his entire body now trembling Kuwabara turned on his heels and shouted as he ran into the storm outside, "Kurama, come on! Let's kill these fuckers once and for all!"

Not needing any further prompting Kurama quickly followed after his rash thinking friend, reasoning that he could form a strategy on the way. Racing through the onslaught of rain the two men ran alongside of each other at speeds normal humans would recognize as nothing but blurs and Kurama was glad he had given into Kuwabara's demands and had spent a great deal of time after the first Makai tournament to train his tenacious human friend. True, their days of helping the spirit and living world had ended but, that did not stop Kuwabara from wanting to keep in toe with his old team mates, for that Kurama was very thankful at the moment. The normal day's journey to Tarukane's home seemed to be half completed already and it had only been ten or twenty minutes since they had left their home.

"Kuwabara, can you still see those images that Kokoro sent out?"

"Yeah, kinda." Kuwabara's face scrunched up in a mixture of anger and worry while they darted around trees and over rocks through the familiar forest from their past. "I can't really see anything anymore but, I can hear her screaming in the back of my head."

"Like the energy from before?"

Kuwabara shook his head as he ducked from a tree's branch, "No more like…"

The earth shook under their feet as a loud tremor of thunder caused their running to cease. They were very close to the compound now and within the thunder's boisterous echo the two heard a soul wrenching mangled cry.

Furrowing his brows, hands on his knees and panting some more Kuwabara finished his sentence as Kurama stoically looked ahead of them, "Well…more like that."

Kurama did not need to hear anymore as he started back on his run through the forest to the mansion ahead of them, picking up his pace. Kuwabara's own pace had slowed but, he was not the one the red head worried about. If that scream and faint energy was hers as they both knew that it was, then the two had only moments left before they would be too late. Kuwabara would catch up, Kurama knew that but, there was no more time to hold back and allow his friend to keep up. The clock was ticking and the building was coming into view. Darkness showed in every window and the grounds seemed completely untouched since Kurama's last arrival but, a flicker of light through the rain caught the fox spirit's attention.

Off to the far left was what appeared to be a gardener's shed with its doors opening and closing to the beat of the wind causing a glimpse of a lantern to be able to be seen from the inside and with that glimpse the red haired demon sprinted through the opening doors and into its empty confines. There was nothing inside to be found but, the lantern. No cobwebs, no old gardening tools, not even the traces of dust, yes, Kurama was indeed in the right place. It just took a moment for him to find the trap door in the floor and make his way down the long corridor towards the maniacal sound of laughter and bright beams of florescent lights.

Upon exiting the corridor Kurama froze in anger at the site before him. A grey colored low level demon stood with his back to him while it scribbled away at a desk, the room smelled of foul chemicals and blood and a slow beeping sound came from a far off corner. Along each wall was a large containment tube filled with water and bodies that gave off no trace of life however, one was empty. Between him and the loathsome creature writing away at his desk, Kurama's emerald gaze landed on a table slab covered in blood, tubing and the nude lifeless form of a sickly thin young woman. Her impossibly long hair was sprayed out covering the table underneath her but it was clear to see it was almost the length of her own long form, its color was unclear through all of the blood it had soaked up but it was the face of the woman that made Kurama exhale; it was Kokoro, and her chest was moving up and down in breath, though it was faint. She did not appear as what she had to them earlier that day, she did not seem disproportionate or grotesquely like a doll but, as a malnourished, tear soaked, beautiful young woman holding on dearly to life. How long had Kurama been holding his breath during his venture here? No matter, the question was answered; the woman was alive, barely but alive none the less. Now all that was left was to kill this beast after find out as much as possible about what was going on here in this shed then to take Kokoro to Yukina to try and begin the healing process.

Unmasking his energy Kurama heard the creature stop its laughing and turn sheepishly to face his cold rage filled eyes.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Blackness; a never ending sea of nothingness, it would be quite the ideal location for an afterlife in Kokoro's mind however, the pain was still there. She could still feel her chest rise forcibly by her brain and the sting that it created each time the cold air nipped at her exposed body, the tremors of frigid agony with each new breeze and finally the ache of each of her orifices from those horrible rolls of tubing. She thought the worst one would have been her mouth, yet it was honestly the least painful out of the three, the tubing had been much shorter down her throat being just a few inches while the other two were a good foot or more. The wounds still felt as though the plastic were still intact inside, though it also seemed like a warm sensation was pooling from the more tender two. _'I must be bleeding fairly heavily…though…why I am not dead is still a mystery…If I am dead…this is one cruel place of limbo…though…life was worse I suppose…had I lived a long enough life outside of that chamber to be judged? Is there even a judgment….or is it just this blackness?'_

The emptiness of Kokoro's current state started to wane as noise filled her ears, it was muffled and hard to understand however, it was a shout of some sort and it was a very irksome sound that made her brows furrow. _'Shouting in the afterlife? …Am I in what they call hell?'_ The irritating sound was quickly stilled whilr rushed yet collected sounds replaced it, as if two people were conversing around her. _'Well I must be dead…that vile creature's laugher is gone…at least I was able to escape in a way…'_

The sounds were starting to become somewhat clearer as if her ears were walking down a tunnel towards the exit, where things seemed to become more vivid at the end. At the feeling of something warm and soft touching her left arm her eyes started to open and she noticed the blurs were becoming less obscure though her thoughts were still racing. _'If I am dead why can I still feel touch? ...I should not have a body to touch…the pain of my spirit from my death is somewhat understandable but this…this warmth…Did I not escape after all?'_ The white and grey were still all she saw, no defined lines or shapes just blurs however, upon moving her gaze to the left to find the cause of the warmth on her chilled skin Kokoro found a new color. Bright garnet, of the most beautiful hue was hovering over her side and inside of it were two small clouds of vivid emerald. They were so enticing that she did not even realize that her hand had moved to grasp onto the garnet colored haze and instead of feeling nothing the impression of the smoothest silk befell upon her fingers, it was then she noticed her own movement and her eyes went wide in confusion. She was able to move? How long had it been since she had last moved on her own accord? What was she grasping onto? Will coherency grace her brain as movement just had for her body? Was her spirit too broken to be fixed? Was she still going through examinations and torture? Why was the pain becoming worse again?

_'…What is happening?'_

…

Kurama stared down at the woman holding a loose grasp on a clump of his long hair, the way her eyes were a fogged over dull color of grey staring up at him he could tell she had no true sight just yet, maybe once the drugs left her system she could see properly again but, she was currently holding as tight as she could to the most vibrant thing in the dull surgeon room meaning some of her vision remained. He was not about to force her to let go of it either, as it was most likely what kept her conscious at the moment and the fact that she was focused only on him and not the blood pooled around her helped, the last thing the poor woman needed was to go into a complete state of shock.

"Whoa! I thought she was dead!" Kuwabara rushed to the side of the table in which the blood soaked nude woman lay, now grasping at his friend's red hair with glazed over eyes wide open. No emotion plagued the woman's face, though her shivering was slowly becoming apparent and her chest was rising faster with each panicked breath she was taking. "Who is she anyways? Where is that weird chick from Genkai's?"

Kurama took his hand from off of the woman's freezing arm and began to take his jacket off while instructing Kuwabara, "Sit her up slowly and gently, do not let her eyes go to the blood." Kuwabara quietly obeyed his friend's orders, standing on the opposite side of the table and graciously holding her shoulder and the back of her head as he cautiously pulled her up. His face was bright crimson from her state of dress though, while sitting her up he caught sight of her dead eyes focused solely on his companion. _'Those freaky eyes…' _and then it hit him; those eyes, he had seen them before that same day. She was Kokoro, the girl he and Kurama had set off to help, the shock almost made him drop the poor woman but his slip was quickly caught by his friend that was now placing his jacket around the shivering woman and holding her up.

Kuwabara took his hands quickly off of the woman, Kokoro, and simply stared opened mouthed as Kurama gracefully held her weight up with an arm wrapped around her so his elbow held her shoulder and his hand steadied her head, he used the other to loosely drape his coat around her, all the while not disturbing her outstretched arm that gripped his hair. Kuwabara was beyond confused at this point. Earlier when he had finally caught up to Kurama, he walked in this room as the red head was finishing up a very enraged interrogation on a cowering slimy demon, the red head was so engrossed in his intimidation that he ignored Kuwabara's questions and after a while the boy was also afraid of his friend and stopped talking all together, taking in the horrifying room they were in. From what he had seen the room was nothing more than a surgical torture chamber, with dead people in water filled pillars and one laid out on a table covered in her own blood, none of which looked like the grotesque girl they had met previously that morning. Kurama had been asking medical terms that Kuwabara had only barely recognized figuring that the rest must have been demon world phrases and while they spoke he moved to searching the desk for any form of information he could get his hands on finding several small doctor journals that he pocketed knowing his friend would want to go through them later, while Kurama killed the sniveling demon. True, Kuwabara had heard of Kurama's lack of mercy during their fight with Sensui however, he did not expect to actually see it himself. Something about this situation had broken his calm friend and turned his normal collected self into rage filled anger, though he could not blame his friend, he felt the same anger, it was just out of character to see such a side in an otherwise level headed Kurama, and now his friend was back to being in control and acting collected upon seeing this woman's new found consciousness though, his green eyes still showed a fury of anger that made Kuwabara hesitate to speak.

"Do you think Yukina will be able to help her? I don't even see where all that blood is coming from."

After securing his coat around Kokoro's thin frame Kurama moved his free arm to hold her back and head up as he repositioned the other to under her thighs and lifted her off the table into his hold. It was then he and Kuwabara saw the extent of blood that encased the table; Kokoro herself was drenched in it, her long hair clumped into mats from the blood drying in places and yet dripping to the floor as if she had showered in the substance while the table itself appeared to be sunken in as to hold an inch or so of the pool of crimson. How she was still alive with that much blood loss was astounding though, Kurama felt as though the drugs they had filled her with had a great deal of impact. "Did you find the notebooks in the desk?"

Kuwabara pulled two hand bound small books from his pockets in reply. Kurama simply nodded his head and looked down at the frail woman he was holding in his arms, her eyes were still open yet also still glazed over as she continued staring at his hair. Sighing, thankful she had not seen the pool of her own blood, Kurama turned his attention back to Kuwabara. "We will figure out what all needs attended to once we get back. I transferred some of my spirit energy to her before she opened her eyes so hopefully it will keep her conscious until then."

Kurama watched as his friend nodded his head in understanding and the two began their run out of the shed and back to the forests, thankful that the rain had stopped but also wishing the lightning would return to destroy the horrid compound they had left behind.

Throughout the entire journey back Kokoro remained awake and focused intently on the hair she clung to with her feeble grasp, unable to comprehend the words that were being spoken and not knowing what was transpiring other than the gentleness she was feeling for the first time in so many years, and the beauty of the vibrant garnet color wrapped around her fingers. Occasionally she would look up to gaze at the pair of piercing emerald blurs wondering what was going on, why the colors seemed familiar yet not really caring; she appeared to be free of that terrible grey and white room, the pain was still apparent though her spirit was returning slowly to enjoy the warmth wrapped around her and the smell of crisp air. Either she was dead and awaking in what she had heard was heaven, or she was alive and somehow escaped; both were acceptable and brought happiness to her pained body and mind.

Upon arriving at Genkai's temple Kurama looked down once again at Kokoro to find her eyes now closed and the faintest traces that the right side of her mouth was curled upward into a very weak grin, her grip was still on his hair making his concern that she had gone back to being unconscious during their travels, vanish and another sigh escape his lips. Walking up to one of the buildings he felt Yukina and Genkai's presence and also that of one apparently angered fire demon inside, making another sigh escape from his mouth. "This truly is one eventful day, thankfully Kuwabara is still quite a ways back and will not arrive for a few moments otherwise a fight will surely ensue." he muttered to himself as he walked into the room to find three sets of eyes meeting him.

Yukina was quick to her feet as she ushered Kurama to bring the woman to another room attached to the building and as they walked he could tell Hiei was following as well, while Genkai was staying behind most likely to delay Kuwabara when he arrived.

After leaving the woman in Yukina's care the two demons took a spot on both sides of the door leaning against the wood paneling. Kurama closed his eyes and began the conversation with his old friend, "No guess why you are here, Hiei. Though, after you and Kuwabara's last words to one another I am surprised that you have decided to stay for longer than necessary."

The short black clothed demon scoffed and was quick to reply, "Yes, well the idiot is not present at the moment, and that creature you just left in that room with Yukina has peaked my interests."

Opening one eye to look over and down at the spiked haired man Kurama thanked his friend's ability to read minds at the moment. "What all have you noticed then?"

"If your senses weren't so clogged by the smell of chemicals you may have noticed it as well, fox." Hiei glanced at his friend, eyeing the blood that soaked his shirt and hair. "Her blood smells wrong."

Furrowing his brows Kurama looked down at his blood drenched shirt and held it to his nose to get a cleaner smell, it was true his nostrils were burning with the overpowering stench of disinfectant and other chemicals, though he had smelled blood it did not seem unusual but now, being out of that room and holding the substance to his somewhat recovered nose he caught a hint of what Hiei mentioned. "It is as though her human blood is mixed with that of a demons."

There was a short pause in speech between the two before Hiei spoke again, "Yukina told me of the girl, and from what I can gather..." Kurama noticed a glow dim from under the bandana across his friend's forehead as Hiei looked out a window towards the forest and direction of the compound Kurama had just returned from. "That arrogant human club has picked up on a few plans the bastard left behind."

"Yes, the demon overseeing the project mentioned briefly on the subject."

Hiei grinned at Kurama's words, "Before you disposed of him of course?"

"Were you able to see anything else, Hiei?"

Hiei kept his grin on his face, enjoying the irritation and anger his friend continued to radiate. "Not much, just that the blood came from some rather unpleasantly placed tubing, and that her spirit will need some mending as well." Now losing his grin, Hiei also closed his eyes and allowed a small angered growl to escape from deep within his throat. "Fox, you don't want to know just the pieces of what that girl can remember right now, we demons are kinder in comparison. Those humans…I wouldn't mind being placed in Makai prison for decapitating them all."

Kurama grinned and with a slightly sarcastic tone added, "I am sure Mukuro and Yukina would be thrilled at that. Speaking of, you really should clear things up with Kuwabara considering what may happen later on down the road."

Turning to glare at the red head Hiei scoffed and walked away from the wall, back now turned towards his friend. "That idiot caused it upon himself, and there is no reason to enlighten those too stupid to understand." Walking down the opposite hallway in which they had come earlier, Hiei spoke once more before disappearing from view, "Let me know when you want the help to get rid of those vile humans."

Kurama lost his grin and removed himself from the wall as well, turning to the door in front of him and knocking before entering to see the progress Yukina had made on the woman. Closing the door behind himself he looked to the female demon cleaning blood off of the frail woman on the bed. "How is she?"

Yukina turned to look at Kurama, her crimson eyes holding an anger he did not think the kind woman could possess. She turned back to her patient as she spoke, "She is asleep at the moment. Do you think you could fill that bowl with water?"

Kurama abided and went to the far side of the room to pick up a large bowl and ran warm water into it from the sink near where it had rested. This room had been remodeled to be a healing space of sorts, filled with all varieties of medical tools to heal and stich back wounds, a sink for quicker access to clean water, a small cooler for simple medicines and a bed for the injured. It was the only remodel he, Yusuke and Kuwabara had made to the old temple with Genkai's approval that it would be a good idea and over the years it had proven its use, now being one of them. Taking the now full bowl of water to the bed side table Kurama stood back, allowing Yukina her room to work and Kokoro some privacy while still being able to converse with Yukina and be available if needed.

The young demon woman took one rag out of a stack on the table and dipped it in the water Kurama had placed next to the pile and began cleaning the blood from Kokoro's body. "I couldn't find any outer wounds to heal despite the amount of blood but, all of her internal wounds are healed. Her energy is still very weak however, her vital signs seem very strong, just in a slight shock which isn't surprising." Though Kurama could not see Yukina's face, he could hear the anger mixed with sadness in her voice and knew her expression reflected the same emotions as she grabbed more small towels to wet and replace the blood smeared ones now tossed in a bin beside her. "Once I finish cleaning her up, do you think you could transfer some of your energy to her to help mend her own?"

"Yes, I was planning on doing so."

He watched as Yukina nodded and silently finished her work before taking the bed's comforter and covering Kokoro. Standing she picked up the bin filled with a good majority of the rags all of which soaked crimson and turned to Kurama, her expression calmer now though still holding signs of concern and sadness. "Thank you, Kurama. I don't want to think of what would've happened to her if you and Kazuma didn't show when you did."

Kurama offered a kind smile to the young woman in an attempt to ease her sadness, "It is fine Yukina, go rest and sit with Genkai I have things covered here. Just send Kuwabara in for a moment when you find him, alright?"

She nodded her head before leaving and closing the door behind her as Kurama went to sit in her seat next to the bed. Kokoro's face was no longer covered in blood and other than her lengthy hair somewhat still covered in dried blood one would not have realized she was injured at all, merely resting. Beginning his work at sending energy to help the girl Kurama sighed once more, _'What sort of trouble have I walked into this time?'_


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Once more there was darkness; Kokoro could not help but feel that it was a metaphor for her life so far and the fact that each time she fell into unconsciousness it constantly being there to great her, did not help ease the idea. When was the last time she had had a dream? It was always a void, nothingness, no beautiful gardens or crazy adventures that made no sense, there was never even nightmares, just the black empty void. This time however, there was one vast improvement; a crisp soothing and rather attractive aroma and it was almost intoxicating. Was it normal to have the sense of smell in one's dreams? Not worrying about the strangeness of this new phenomenon Kokoro merely enjoyed it, letting the fragrance engulf her spirit, it was a more than welcome invasion of what she was use to and a wave of sadness began to cover her mind as the sensation of her unconsciousness began to dim. As the darkness faded surprisingly the smell did not and confusion befell her as she lifted her eyes open to a strange blinding light. Squinting, she looked around at her surprisingly non blurred surroundings all of which made her shocked, eager and slightly frightened all at the same time, this was after all the first time she had been able to see shapes that were not blurred in a very long time.

First she found that she was covered by a blanket, a real warm blanket in a very comfortable and also rather real bed. Second, there was a window next to her that allowed the most beautifully blinding sunlight to enter the room though she could not see past the bright light she could hear the birds singing meaning she was so close to the outdoors. Third, she was in a room, not made of grey or white blurs but out of the richest color of oak. Forth and finally, there was no ugly grey creature in the room with her or signs of any of a water filled containment tube but instead, there was a young male sitting in a chair beside her reading a rather aged and worn book.

His features were soft yet at the same time attractively masculine and had the brightest long red hair, his appearance in and of itself was intriguing. There was something about this man that seemed very familiar or rather, his hair was very familiar. '_Where have I seen that vibrant color before?_'

The man looked up from his book and met her questioning gaze with the deepest emerald eyes she could imagine, a kind smile gracing his lips. "Good to see you have awoken. How do you feel?"

_'How do I feel?'_ Kokoro slowly sat up causing the blankets to fall from her chest and into her lap. She stared at her hands, amazed at herself for being able to move so much. In truth she did not feel anything, no pain, no pinching or numbing sensations, just the bedding under and above herself. Looking back to the man she found his head was turned to the side, his eyes closed. Her throat tightened as she attempted to respond to his question, and after clearing it several times quiet words stuttered out in an answer, "The…The pain…where has it gone?"

The man stood and went to a dresser along another wall, keeping his back to her as he searched the drawers. _'Maybe he could not hear me?' _Just as she was about to try and speak up louder the man walked back to the bed she was lying on, eyes closed as he laid a small pile of clothing at the edge of her bed.

"I am glad to hear it is gone however, I will be more than glad to answer all of the questions you surely have once you dress. My apologies for not giving you the clothes sooner." The man walked towards the door and placed his hand on the doorknob, causing Kokoro to panic. She did not want to be alone she had been isolated for so long, she did not know this seemingly kind man and did not want to take the chance that she would never speak to him again if he were to leave the room. For all she knew, this was all just a hallucination caused by those liquids.

"P…Please, do…not go!" The man halted his movements at the sound of her terrified voice, taking his hand from the doorknob and allowing it to fall to his side.

His voice was soothing as he remained facing the door and stated, "I will remain here then, no worries."

Kokoro sighed in relief though still watched the man from the corner of her eye to make sure he would not disappear out of the room as she grasped the clothes he had laid out for her. How long had it been since she had touched a shirt? The material seemed foreign to her, especially the small pieces that appeared would not cover much if any of her skin. The shirt and pants she understood, and it took her a while to remember that one of the smaller articles was underwear for her pelvis area but, there was still one that confused her. Checking to make sure the man was still in the room with her and upon seeing that he had not moved an inch, Kokoro swung her legs over the side of the bed admiring their length before gingerly placing her weight to her feet on the ground. If it was not for the chair to hold her steady she would have fallen, her legs were not use to the feeling of her using them and she was not use to the coordination it took to evenly distribute her weight in order to stand up right. After several uncoordinated moments she had been able to get the underwear and pants on however, the shirt and strange piece laid untouched. She stared at the mystery piece, wondering why there were straps like that of a horse's saddle, yet two cushioned cones in the center of it all. Finally she decided she was taking too long and left the strange piece be as she put the shirt on over her chest which was a difficult ordeal in itself with her body length hair coming from her head and the tightness of the material. After she pulled the long strands out from the neck of her shirt, she held the dark tresses in her hand staring as they touched the floor. "I am done…"

The man turned to see Kokoro fully clothed and holding her hair in her hands in amazement and he chuckled causing her to turn her gaze to him. She sat on the edge of the bed as he retook his place in the chair all the while she kept looking at the strands of hair, especially those with tangles made from dried clumps. "What is this…substance?"

The man sighed as he answered, "Yes, well it is dried blood. We had managed to get the rest of you cleaned off when we brought you here but your hair is so long we decided it might be best to cut it when you awoke."

"Blood…" Her brows furrowed in confusion, in the eternity she had spent in that tube she had never seen blood. "Whose is it?"

There was a moment of silence that caused her to look to the man, his face was now stoic and he was watching her carefully before he answered, "Yours." Kokoro's confusion grew as she fiddled with the clumps in her hand. "What all do you remember?"

Thinking back she quickly answered his question, "I…I do not have very many memories…it is all mainly just of…being in a black void which I guess was unconsciousness and…constant searing pain…" Her voice would not get any louder than a whisper as she spoke, and was surprised that the man seemed to be able to hear any of it though she was glad that it was becoming easier for her throat to allow words out. "There was however…a grey figure of a creature, though almost everything I can remember outside of the blackness was either blurs of grey or white…he took me out of my water prison and took these tubes out of me…Then there was this vibrant blur of red…I do not know what it was…" Kokoro rubbed at her forehead trying to remember more but with each attempt a throb would begin in her temples. "And I think…a very long time ago…there was a girl…mint colored hair…crying stones…"

"It is alright, you do not have to remember more if it hurts." Kokoro met the man's kind gaze as she rubbed the fading pain away, casting aside what was causing the ache in her temples.

"Will I remember anything else?" The man's kind eyes appeared to hold sadness at her words.

"Honestly, I hope you do not." It was then Kokoro noticed his tight grasp on the book in his lap.

"I like to read…I do not know if that is a memory or not…What book is that?"

The man tightened his grasp on the book and sent a smile that seemed fake towards her. "Just a journal, nothing of interest or importance."

Kokoro nodded her head knowing he was most likely lying about the contents, though she did not want to be rude and press a matter that was clearly closed. "Oh! Where are my manners?" She shakily stood and did a small bow before standing to look the man in the eyes and extending her hand out in a greeting. "My name is Kokoro, it is a pleasure to meet you."

The man simply smiled and stood to give her a small bow as well, "I am Kurama, it is very nice to meet you as well, Kokoro."

Kurama held out his free hand and grasped hers in a brief handshake, though the entire time Kokoro stared at his hand touching hers. The feeling of touch was so peculiar to her, her mind recognized the feeling as soft, smooth and strong yet it did not truly define everything within the interaction, though she could not place it and did not try to. There was something about the mystery that intrigued and captivated her and she did not want to ruin it by deducting it straight away. The two released each other's hand after a silent moment and returned to their original seats once more.

Kurama watched Kokoro as she sat across from him, he was not surprised that she did not remember him, it had been a possibility with how broken her spirit was before he had mended it. Though staring at her now conscious self fiddling with her dirty hair as she stared back, he was amazed at how quickly she had healed over the week she was asleep, her face was still too thin, but her ability to move on her own was outstanding and even though it was just a small whisper she was doing amazing at speaking. According to the book, the woman had been incarcerated for over fifty years and yet she looked to be in no more than her mid-twenties, how long her spirit had been wandering around the astral plane was a question he would more than likely never ask. She had gone through so much, and the pages of the demon surgeon's journals told of every injection, each session they switched out her blood with that of a demons, and all of the mutations they produced from it. They had named her D4, and she was the only survivor of ten that the book named, but who knew what other labs the Black Black Club was running and what other plans they were making. Kokoro was a miracle for breathing, let alone conversing with him and moving around, he and the others had agreed prior to her wake to go along with whatever the woman would remember and let her stay on the grounds until or if she decided to leave, they would make whatever life she had left a happy one, so re introducing himself was what he did happily.

"Oh, and thank you for the clothes. I had forgotten that it is proper to cover one's self."

Kurama looked at the woman as a light blush formed on her incredibly pale face, it was the first sign of emotion she had shown since her very faint smile when they rescued her and he felt as though it would take a lot to make her show her expressions. A feeling of determination was filling him for an unknown reason that he shook to the side as he smiled in response, "No worries, you caused no offence."

Kokoro nodded her head as her blush faded and she continued, "That is good however, could you tell me what that article of clothing is for? I can not remember ever seeing one like it before."

Kurama followed her pointed finger to the bra laying where he had left the pile of clothing earlier, he had completely overlooked the article and he had been so keen on watching her face that he had not noticed till then that Shizuru's old shirt was tight across her torso and showed that she was in fact not wearing the bra, though he wondered if it would even fit considering the difference in Shizuru's physical appearance to Kokoro's. Though the books did not state much of the intentions of the experiments done on her, the surgeons were very successful of one thing at least, she did have the ideal body typical human males sought after; long legs, pale skin, exceptionally long straight hair, wide hips, lean abdomen, flawless face and large breasts, all of which seemed unrealistic and he would not be surprised if she detested herself when she eventually found her way to a mirror.

Kurama looked back to Kokoro's grey eyes and chuckled slightly, "Well, I think that is a question better suited for one of the girls."

"Girls?"

He smiled as he stood from his chair and extended a hand out to her, "Yes, this place is home to a few and a visiting spot for many of our friends would you care to meet them?"

'_Friends…'_ The idea caused her head to swim, would they want to be her friends as well? She had never had any before and would not pass up this opportunity to meet some, especially if they were as polite and kind as this Kurama was. Kokoro let go of her hair and grasped his hand with one of her own allowing him to help her walk out of the room and towards the people she was about to meet, her brain rattling with excitement and nervousness.

'_I still need to figure out what that intoxicating smell is…oh well, I will ask Kurama later, after I meet these friends of his.'_


End file.
